Causes of Infertility

Isolating the Causes of Infertility

You’ve tried on your own to get pregnant; now it’s time to visit a fertility clinic for answers. Ready access to ovulation predictor kits may alert you to problems with female infertility, but most couples arrive at New York Fertility Services frustrated and puzzled as to the cause of their infertility.

Think of conception as a domino effect: A myriad of biological events must take place, one after the next, for a single sperm to fertilize an ovulated egg, and successful pregnancy to unfold.

Hormonal signals must take place to start the chain of events.

A woman must ovulate.

Correctly timed intercourse must occur.

Sperm needs to be healthy and mobile.

Fallopian tubes must be open and the uterus primed for implantation.

Hormonal support is essential to support a growing embryo.

If any one of these steps in the reproductive process fails to take place, the process stops. On any given month, a healthy, fertile couple has a 15-25 percent chance of getting pregnant, and nearly 80 percent of couples will get pregnant within a year.

When you can’t get pregnant after 12 months (6 months if you are over 35), our fertility clinic recommends taking a proactive approach, with targeted testing to determine the cause of infertility.

Her Turn: Female Infertility Causes

Infertility testing for the female partner starts with an interview with one of our compassionate fertility doctors, and progresses to a physical exam and a series of two blood draws to check hormone levels and other factors.

Ovulation disorders account for the majority of problems, but 70 percent can be corrected with fertility drugs.

Age related infertility is a leading cause of female infertility, especially if the woman is over 40.

PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) not only causes female infertility, it negatively impacts a woman’s physical appearance and may lead to serious health complications.

Immunologic issues can prevent or interfere with the embryo attaching to the uterine lining for implantation.

Recurrent miscarriage is devastating, but frequently treatable. If you have had two consecutive miscarriages, schedule an appointment with our fertility center.

Tubal disease and other anatomical problems can likely be corrected with minimally invasive fertility surgery.

Lifestyle and environmental factors contribute to female infertility, but simple changes can make a positive difference.

His Turn: Male Infertility Causes

Our infertility clinic caters to men who feel anxious about seeing a fertility doctor. We reassure them that semen analysis can lead to one of two results:

We clear male infertility as the cause, and concentrate instead on female infertility causes.

We find a likely cause, erectile dysfunction, sperm disorders (low sperm counts, for example) or hormonal imbalances. Our fertility doctors can help you circumvent nearly any obstacle to successfully conceiving a baby.

If our fertility clinic staff classifies your case as unexplained infertility, we will proceed with ovulation induction and IUI before proceeding to more invasive techniques such as IVF.

Our success in identifying the causes of infertility and devising a plan has helped hundreds of couples become parents, from hometowns of Jersey City, Edgewater and all around the New York and New Jersey area. Contact us at our fertility center to arrange for a fertility workup with Joel Batzofin, M.D.